Yahoo! Games

James O'Brien

Hockey Daily Dose

Breaks of the Game

Upon hearing Wednesday’s big bad news, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d witnessed the birth of the next great perpetual injury disappointment.

In case you missed it, Ryan Kesler suffered a broken foot. He’ll need four-to-six weeks to recover, which in the worst case scenario, is dangerously close to the rest of the 2013 season. (Especially considering how poorly things have gone for him when he’s rushed back from serious ailments before.)

The former Selke winner didn’t blow the doors off fantasy-wise in his precious few seven games, but his versatility, the quality team around him and his high ceiling made him an exciting add for many owners. I’ll admit I was in that group in one deep league with very limited IR slots. (That limited amount of IR spots also explains why I glumly dropped Kesler for bland old Jay Bouwmeester on Wednesday.)

For my money, Kesler wasn’t quite at the “you should know better” level injury-risk-wise if you picked him up in mid-February or so. Sadly, it might be time to nudge him all the way into that category after this bit of bad luck.

At 28, he’s approaching the age where players see their bodies start to slip (while hoping that their accrued knowledge and self-confidence can make up the difference). By no means does that indicate he’s relegated to the Injury Bermuda Triangle with Ales Hemsky, Martin Havlat and others, yet that is becoming the worry.

I feel the most sorrow for owners who used a semi-valuable to valuable pick on Kesler, waited patiently as he rehabbed, excitedly activated him and then watched him get hurt again two miserable weeks later.

Fantasy hockey owners almost always have to take on injury gambles, but let’s admit it: fragility (or a lack thereof) is the biggest tiebreaker of them all. (It almost hurts to admit, but it's even more important than contract year determination.)

RYDER’S FIRST RIDE

Players don’t always get to debut with their new teams in the first available game following a trade, yet in a short season, it’s a nice little treat that Michael Ryder and Simon Gagne got to play right away for their respective teams. (Bonus No. 3: Erik Cole is expected to suit up for the Dallas Stars tonight.)

If you had to give Ryder a grade for his first game - which really isn’t too fair - it would be an Incomplete. He had a -1 rating while failing to register a shot on goal in 14:34 of ice time. That might seem awful, but the guy didn’t even get to practice with new teammates.

He had a goal on the PP, which is obviously great, but his overall activity was especially heartening. The 32-year-old winger received a solid 16 minutes of ice time, with an encouraging four shots on goal.

Don’t expect him to resemble the guy who crossed the 40-goal plateau twice during his Flyers days, but do expect a bump up. He skated with Sean Couturier and Max Talbot (who also scored his first goal of the season) on Philly’s third line. In a lot of ways Gagne’s situation seems pretty similar to Ryder’s, but the main difference is that one is watching his hope rise while the other was planted in a lesser situation.

Upon hearing Wednesday’s big bad news, I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d witnessed the birth of the next great perpetual injury disappointment.

In case you missed it, Ryan Kesler suffered a broken foot. He’ll need four-to-six weeks to recover, which in the worst case scenario, is dangerously close to the rest of the 2013 season. (Especially considering how poorly things have gone for him when he’s rushed back from serious ailments before.)

The former Selke winner didn’t blow the doors off fantasy-wise in his precious few seven games, but his versatility, the quality team around him and his high ceiling made him an exciting add for many owners. I’ll admit I was in that group in one deep league with very limited IR slots. (That limited amount of IR spots also explains why I glumly dropped Kesler for bland old Jay Bouwmeester on Wednesday.)

For my money, Kesler wasn’t quite at the “you should know better” level injury-risk-wise if you picked him up in mid-February or so. Sadly, it might be time to nudge him all the way into that category after this bit of bad luck.

At 28, he’s approaching the age where players see their bodies start to slip (while hoping that their accrued knowledge and self-confidence can make up the difference). By no means does that indicate he’s relegated to the Injury Bermuda Triangle with Ales Hemsky, Martin Havlat and others, yet that is becoming the worry.

I feel the most sorrow for owners who used a semi-valuable to valuable pick on Kesler, waited patiently as he rehabbed, excitedly activated him and then watched him get hurt again two miserable weeks later.

Fantasy hockey owners almost always have to take on injury gambles, but let’s admit it: fragility (or a lack thereof) is the biggest tiebreaker of them all. (It almost hurts to admit, but it's even more important than contract year determination.)

RYDER’S FIRST RIDE

Players don’t always get to debut with their new teams in the first available game following a trade, yet in a short season, it’s a nice little treat that Michael Ryder and Simon Gagne got to play right away for their respective teams. (Bonus No. 3: Erik Cole is expected to suit up for the Dallas Stars tonight.)

If you had to give Ryder a grade for his first game - which really isn’t too fair - it would be an Incomplete. He had a -1 rating while failing to register a shot on goal in 14:34 of ice time. That might seem awful, but the guy didn’t even get to practice with new teammates.

He had a goal on the PP, which is obviously great, but his overall activity was especially heartening. The 32-year-old winger received a solid 16 minutes of ice time, with an encouraging four shots on goal.

Don’t expect him to resemble the guy who crossed the 40-goal plateau twice during his Flyers days, but do expect a bump up. He skated with Sean Couturier and Max Talbot (who also scored his first goal of the season) on Philly’s third line. In a lot of ways Gagne’s situation seems pretty similar to Ryder’s, but the main difference is that one is watching his hope rise while the other was planted in a lesser situation.

Kyle Palmieri didn’t just score the first hat trick of his NHL career last night; he made it a natural hat trick to boot.

Still, an out-of-left-field trio isn’t that big of a deal for a random winger. It’s the context that matters, and in this case, it’s the kind of scenario that should leave at least a few forward-needy folks (and aren’t we all?) intrigued.

Here’s the context: every Palmieri goal from Wednesday had these credited assists: (Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf) … right down to Perry getting the primary and Getzlaf grabbing the secondary bit.

Palmieri only has seven goals and two assists on the season, counting the hat trick. He doesn’t really stack up a ton of peripherals, either. Every sign is saying don’t pick him up except the most obvious one: he’s on a line with Perry and Getzlaf. (He also has a nice shot.)

My advice: if you’re the type to add and drop guys from you fringe, give him a try. If you don’t want to concern yourself with the ups and downs of younger players, then stay away. Either way, at least keep an eye on him, though.

BERNIER FOR YOU

It’s weird that Jonathan Bernier is the odd Jonathan out in Los Angeles instead of Jonathan Quick. If you remember back a few years ago when the Kings seemed stuck in a perpetual rebuild, Bernier was supposed to be the big deal (in a small package) while Quick seemed like he’d accept the table scraps as a backup.

Things have obviously changed since then, but considering Bernier’s upcoming RFA status and Quick’s motivation-sapping mega-deal,* he’s been worth following. Bernier improved his record to 5-1-0 by stopping 32 of the Detroit Red Wings’ 33 shots, probably his best performance of the season.

That might help him actually wrestle a few more starts from Quick - before, Bernier was winning but not really standing out - but an ideal scenario fantasy-wise would be a trade to a needy team. (Bonus points if he gets shipped to a contender.)

The Edmonton Oilers mysteriously placed Nikolai Khabibulin on the IR. In very deep leagues, I actually was taking a bit of a shine to him. So much for that (looks like a groin injury) … James Wisniewski joins Jack Johnson on the IR for Columbus … Raphael Diaz hasn’t declined as much as some expected with P.K. Subban back in the fold. Unfortunately, it appears that he is suffering from a concussion … Speaking of concussions, Evgeni Malkin’s at least skating again … Brendan Smith (again) and Valtteri Filppula are day-to-day with upper-body issues for the Red Wings … Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter might be the hottest among heating-up Kings. Both displayed incredibly deft hands in Los Angeles’ crucial third period goals last night … The Philadelphia Flyers’ defense took another blow, as Erik Gustafsson has a lower-body injury … Blues update: Alexander Steen is day-to-day while Andy McDonald is on the injured reserve … Man, did Max Pacioretty ever look dominant last night? Never a dull moment with that guy … Hey, another win for Viktor Fasth. Is it too early to crown him the steal of fantasy with Craig Anderson injured?

* - I’m not saying Quick lacks motivation, mind you; I’m just saying it’s human nature to take your foot off the gas pedal at least a bit once you realize your dreams. I mean, I assume; most of us don’t get to be astronauts or professional athletes.